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The high-profile “devolution deal” designed to bring new jobs and economic growth to the North East has been slammed by an inquiry.

MPs said there was no proper system for making sure cash allocated to the region was spent effectively.

And they attacked the Government for forcing regions to agree to be led by an elected mayor.

The findings came in a hard-hitting report by the Committee of Public Accounts, the cross-party body which scrutinises public spending on behalf of the House of Commons.

They looked at devolution deals backed by the Chancellor, George Osborne, including one in the North East as well as deals in the Greater Manchester area, Birmingham area and other major city regions.

A new North East Combined Authority led by a mayor is to receive £30m a year over the next 30 years, a total of £900m, to create an Investment Fund. The aim will be to bring in private sector investment to pay for new infrastructure, such as transport improvements.

The North East mayor will take control of the region’s budget for transport and take responsibility for franchised bus services.

They will also share control of franchised rail services through regional transport authority Rail North, helping create new “smart” tickets which work on all forms of public transport across the whole of the North.

Chancellor George Osborne signs the Devolution agreement for the North East

They will have powers of over strategic planning and chair a new North East Land Commission to identify unused land which can be released for development.

And they will have the power to place a supplement on business rates - if the business-led local enterprise partnership agrees - to fund infrastructure.

But the Committee said in a report: “We are concerned that not all devolution deals are coherent: they lack clear objectives; and are not aligned geographically with other policies or local bodies.”

And they said Ministers had given the impression that regions were being given more power - when in fact they were being ordered to agree to the creation of a directly-elected mayor against their will.

The inquiry said: “The rhetoric surrounding devolution is that local areas are the driving force behind the deals.

“However in practice central government is stipulating certain requirements, such as around local governance, without making them sufficiently clear up front.

“For example, some local areas have expressed dissatisfaction that they have to adopt a mayoral model as a pre-condition of a devolution deal, even in cases where they do not think the model appropriate to local needs.”

And the MPs expressed concern about the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships - organisations led by local businesses which are supposed to work with the new combined authorities.

Sunderland Council leader Paul Watson

The report described as “alarming” the fact that “LEPs are not meeting basic standards of governance and transparency, such as disclosing conflicts of interest to the public”.

MP Meg Hillier, the Committee chair, said: “Devolution involves big changes to the way large sums of taxpayers’ money are spent on their behalf.

“It is therefore alarming to report that, as we hurtle towards mayoral elections planned for next year, so many questions still hang over the process.

“Parliament and the public must be assured that devolved spending is subject to effective scrutiny and there are clear lines of accountability for delivering value for money.

“These vital arrangements are still very much work-in-progress and must be confirmed as a matter of urgency.”

She added: “The Government has set an ambitious timetable to implement devolution deals but it must not skip over crucial details in a blinkered race to the tape.

“It must be far clearer about what these deals are intended to achieve and set out in detail where accountability for areas of public spending will lie.

“The interests of taxpayers are paramount and we urge the Government to act on our recommendations now to ensure devolution fully serves those interests.”

In the 18 months to April 2016, 10 devolution deals were agreed over the transfer of powers, funding and accountability for policies and functions from central government.

The deals apply to Greater Manchester; Cornwall; Sheffield City Region; the North East; Tees Valley; Liverpool City Region; the West Midlands, East Anglia; Greater Lincolnshire, and the West of England.